Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units

Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units are designed to allow candidates to be assessed in the workplace against the Core Skills standards.

Centres delivering the Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units should gather most of their evidence from tasks and activities completed by candidates in a workplace setting. Please note that simulation of workplace evidence should be by exception.

Core Skills required as part of Modern Apprenticeships

Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) are developed and awarded by sector skills councils (SSCs).

The MA frameworks can be found on the Skills Development Scotland website. Each MA Framework states how the five Core Skills will be covered and whether:

separate certification is not required (ie where the SSC has mapped the Core Skill to the SVQ standards and they judge that it is covered or embedded within the SVQ)

or

separate certification is required (ie where candidates must complete the stand-alone Core Skills Unit or where the Core Skill has previously been achieved by a candidate and is listed on their Core Skills Profile)

Centres should note that Core Skills mappings carried out by SSCs cannot be used as evidence towards achievement of the Core Skills Units. If the MA framework states that a Core Skill is embedded (and does not require separate certification), but the centre wants to enter their candidates for the Core Skill Unit anyway, the candidates must be assessed against the Unit standards and evidence must be gathered in the normal way.

Checking the Core Skills Profile

It will be important for centres that are delivering MAs to check each candidate’s Core Skills Profile to see what Core Skills they may have already achieved and at what level, before the candidate commences the MA. SSCs will accept the Core Skills Profile as evidence of Core Skills attainment, which may mean that some candidates do not have to undertake Core Skills Units as part of their MA.

On the Core Skills Profile, each of the five Core Skills is broken into components, as shown below:

Core Skills

Components

Communication

Oral Communication

Written Communication

Problem Solving

Critical Thinking

Planning and Organising

Reviewing and Evaluating

Numeracy

Using Number

Using Graphical Information

Information and Communication Technology

Accessing Information

Providing/Creating Information

Working with Others

Working Co-operatively with Others

Reviewing Co-operative Contribution

A candidate’s Core Skills Profile must show that the candidate has achieved both components (or all three for Problem Solving) at the level required by the MA framework. Core Skills components achieved at a higher level than that required by the MA framework will also be accepted.